Bruins Notes: Justin Brazeau Making Net-Front Difference For Boston

BOSTON — Justin Brazeau has a go-to spot on the ice, but it’s a place not every player is willing to set up shop.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Bruins forward doesn’t mind positioning himself just in front of an opponent’s net. It is hard, tough work down low near the crease, but it’s also where Brazeau thrives.

“I’ve kind of done that my whole career, my whole life,” Brazeau said. “That’s where I feel most comfortable and that’s where I like to go.”

Brazeau could be found in that exact area making a difference in Boston’s 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at TD Garden. He notched a key second-period goal with the game still hanging in the balance when he cleaned up a rebound from within front. The 26-year-old then punctuated Boston’s scoring effort late in the third period with another tally from right on the doorstep.

Brazeau, who made his NHL debut a month ago, has been a key contributor as a bottom-six forward since his call up but he hasn’t had the stats to back that up until now. The two goals served as the first multi-point game of his career.

“In training camp, I remember saying to people, he’s like a poor man’s Dave Andreychuk just because he seems to get to every puck below the goal line, he makes subtle, little smart plays and you saw his ability. He has nice touch,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said. “I’m glad he got rewarded because he’s been playing a lot better than what his stats have shown on paper. But we’re really happy with how well he’s playing in all three zones.”

Brazeau is just 13 games into his NHL career, but he already doesn’t look like a newcomer. He’s shown tremendous poise to become a valuable asset.

“Just getting more confidence every game I play,” Brazeau said. “The league almost slows down a little bit when you get that confidence and you can make more plays with pucks.”

It seemed almost impossible that Brazeau would have any sort of role on the Bruins power play when the season started. But that’s where he is now.

Both of Brazeau’s goals came on the second power-play unit with him settling in right in front of Senators netminder Joonas Korpisalo. And Montgomery isn’t surprised to see things turning out this way for Brazeau.

“We thought eventually if situations arose that he might get there because he’s a really good net-front power-play guy down in the American League, and you see why,” Montgomery said. “He screens really well, he deflects pucks and he can make little plays in tight. His hockey sense and his offensive acumen is really good in those areas.”

Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Bruins-Senators game:

— Kevin Shattenkirk made a case to stay in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last two games. The veteran defenseman played on his offside alongside deadline pick up Andrew Peeke and doled out three assists to help the Bruins pull away.

“Can’t say enough (about him),” Montgomery said. “I thought that fourth goal that extended the lead, he made two incredibly clever plays. He looked really good on his offside, defending and breaking pucks out, which is not easy.”

— David Pastrnak notched the 17th hat trick of his career, which is good for the second-most three-goal games in franchise history only trailing Phil Esposito’s 26. Pastrnak also moved past Cam Neely for seventh place on the all-time Bruins goal list with 345 tallies.

— Linus Ullmark has looked like a different goalie since a tension-filled NHL trade deadline. Since the deadline past, Ullmark is 3-0 and stopped 86-of-90 (.956) shots. He stood tall against the Senators, making 30 saves.

— Morgan Geekie continues his strong play and by dishing out two helpers, he now has a new career-high in assists with 20.

— The Bruins close out their three-game homestand Thursday with a matchup against the New York Rangers. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.